Six Strings and Six Words
by ramonaboat
Summary: "You're a songwriter with stage fright, I'm a singer who loves to perform," Percy said, "we're a perfect match!" In which Percy and Annabeth forms an unlikely music-making partnership, infuriate each other, and eventually become friends.. and maybe something more. A Percabeth Austin & Ally AU
1. Percy Jackson and the Stolen Song

**Six Strings and Six Words**

 **Chapter One – "Percy Jackson and the Stolen Song"**

 _A Percabeth_ Austin & Ally _AU_

 _When the shy songwriter Annabeth Chase is reluctantly partnered with her polar opposite, the delinquent and confident singer Percy Jackson, Café Olympus starts getting packed nightly. The success of their partnership comes with a price though, seeing as they infuriate and drive each other crazy. But nobody could deny they made a great team, and eventually the frustration turns into friendship and the friendship into something.. a little bit more._

 _Austin & Ally AU._

…

 _I just had to be in charge,_ Annabeth thought and rolled her eyes at the chaos unfolding in front of her.

Their lazy –but hunky, as the other ladies cared to note- music teacher decided to leave them to practice their choir piece, which to Annabeth's dismay also happened to be their project. Mr. Apollo decided it would 'teach them independence,' but really he's just hanging around the teacher's lounge drinking illegal booze and flirting with Mademoiselle Bonevie, the bombshell French teacher.

Of course there would no independence or music practiced at this period, given that the class was outnumbered by jocks and cheerleaders who took it upon themselves to 'party.' _As if they didn't have enough of that after class,_ Annabeth thought. To make things worse, Mr. Apollo left Annabeth _in charge_ , being one of the most musically inclined and responsible, but that only made everyone else happier, because they could walk all over her, as the unwritten high school hierarchy of the _populars_ and _unpopulars_ so dictate. Plus, Annabeth knew that if she piped up, the cheerleaders' snobbery would just make her punch them in the face. Can't risk her clean track record for college.

The only people remotely interested in any sort of music were Percy Jackson and his friends, and they weren't even _close_ to playing their project piece. Percy played the electric guitar, which he did pretty well, Leo Valdez was on the bass, which he clearly had no idea how to play. Jason Grace joined them by 'playing' the drums (though he also clearly didn't have any idea how,) which was weird since he was a jock, and he was close friends with Percy and Leo, who were both of the rebellious clique sorts. Nobody seemed to mind _that_ discrepancy in the high school social order. And given that Percy was the only one who knew how to play the instrument he had, they made a horribly sickening cover of _Smells Like Teen Spirit_.

 _At least the riffs are good,_ Annabeth sulkily thought.

Annabeth gave up at trying to control the rowdy group, her _"Listen ups!"_ and _"Guys we need to practices"_ only got drowned out by the noise. She marched to the corner of the room near the instruments, flopped down on a chair, propped her elbows on her knees and rested her chin on her palms. With a sense of the defeat, she groaned.

Her anger flared as the noise was topped with Percy messing up the lyrics of the chorus, going "Mashed potato! Fried gelato!" and a bunch of other nonsensical lyrics that rhymed with the original. Then he started a wild guitar solo, flailing around the room. When he got near her, he tripped on his shoelace and almost fell on her. But he regained his balance and mouthed _I'm sorry_ then moved on with his shredding as if he never stopped. She rubbed her temples and seriously considered walking out of the hellhole.

Moments later, the crazy (and rather sexual) dancing between the jocks and cheerleaders finally stopped. The cheerleaders walked up to Annabeth, and for a moment she had a flicker of hope that maybe they've come around. " _Let's go practice Annabeth! We just decided that we'd celebrate Mr. Apollo leaving us alone. Now let's go ace that piece and get a good grade!"_ she'd hoped they'd say.

But they didn't. "Oh, thanks for letting us go early, uhmm," the blondest, most cliché cheerleader said instead, pausing as if trying to remember Annabeth's name. Wait, she _was_ trying to remember her name, despite being schoolmates their entire high school life and Annabeth being the consistent top student of their grade. Annabeth felt like another pile of dung got dumped over her, the first pile being dumped the moment Mr. Apollo left the class.

"Annabeth," she reminded under her breath.

"Right," the cheerleader nodded, but Annabeth could only see the excitement of cutting class in her eyes, not a spark of recognition. "You're so nice and sweet for letting us go early. We have tons of things to, lots of practice!"

"But I never said-"

"Thank you, Annabelle!" the cheerleader perkily but awkwardly hugged her for a second, then headed back to the other jocks and cheerleaders, who were already planning their early school getaway.

Annabeth rolled her eyes again, which she's been doing a lot of the past few weeks of the new school year, and watched as her classmates happily sauntered out of the classroom like it was the last day of school.

Annabeth sulkily walked towards the studio piano and pressed a few keys to play a random chord and sighed. "Well, at least I have more time to write my song," she said, then unzipped her backpack and plucked out her songbook. She opened it on the last page she was working on, which was dirty with smudged ink, scribbles, and erasures. She'd had to cross out whole paragraphs until she was happy with the lyrics. And somehow, she still thought it needed revision.

The notebook, which she calls her songbook, was extremely precious to Annabeth. She clung to it like it was her lifeline, and somehow, maybe it was. She had a rocky childhood with her parents' divorce, her father's remarrying, and her mother still trying to get an iron grip on her life. After the bad audition that cursed her with stage fright years ago, her parents were sure Annabeth would never make it to a prestigious music school, so they made her stop taking lessons. They made her stop pursuing a music career altogether.

They still had a piano around the house (or both houses, now that they were separated), But they made sure she only played classical music with it, so she could be a cultured lady (this thought made her want to puke), and not modern pop music in hopes she could make it to the scene. She had to sneak in making her own music, where neither of her parents could hear her. At first, she thought she could give it up entirely, she couldn't understand her longing to crack open her songbook and convert the thoughts of her heart into a song. It was like her life depended on it. Like she'd explode from all the hurt and anger if she didn't put the thoughts into words and put appropriate chords.

So she had her writing sessions at the school's band room during her free cut after music class. She'd sit in front of the piano, her songbook and pen nearby, ready to write revisions after testing the sound out. She'd been trying to write her latest song, but something always felt wrong about the chorus. Maybe it was repeating some of the words over and over again? She sang the song repeatedly, accompanied by her piano, trying to listen for the weak spots.

"Great song."

Annabeth was so startled she almost jumped out of her seat. She began to breathe deeply. It was Percy Jackson, who she realized didn't leave the room after all, after being so sure she was all alone. He walked near her, so near Annabeth could smell his scent (cheap soap and wood.) He hovered beside her, and she realized he was reaching over to play the keys on the piano. "But I think it would be better if it were a lot faster," Percy demonstrated and started playing her song, only faster. Then he began to sing, and when the chorus rolled by, it sounded great. It _did_ sound great faster.

Annabeth looked up at Percy who towered over her, considering he was standing and nearly six feet tall. Annabeth was caught off guard with his smug grin and sparkling green eyes, which popped n contrast to his shaggy, jet-black hair, but managed to pull herself together. _I'm supposed to be angry_ , she thought, then hastily stood up, her motion pushing Percy away.

"What are you doing here?" Annabeth half screamed.

"Whoa there," Percy flung his hands in their as if caught by cops, "I was here all along, I never left."

Annabeth's anger flared inside her. She gave her most intense glare to Percy, who honestly looked scared. _Sure, no biggie, you only just heard my song which only contained MY DEEPEST MOST PRIVATE THOUGHTS!_ Annabeth wanted to yell at his face.

Annabeth gathered her courage, which was inspired by her anger, and grabbed Percy by the elbow and lead him out of the room, marching him out of the door, which she abruptly slammed shut after he left. She was deaf to his protests. Not even her close friends have heard the song before, and now a near stranger did, albeit uninvited.

Now she had all the more reason to loathe Percy Jackson. Okay, maybe she didn't loathe him, at least not before. Maybe just annoyed. Maybe just stood clear of. Not only was Annabeth part of the unpopular crowd, the lowest of the high school caste system, but they were also polar opposites. She'd heard rumors of the number of schools Percy's been kicked out of. He'd apparently only managed to stay for more than a year in the same school during high school. He'd been in a ton of fights. He's always late and he frequents detention. He was always either mischievously smiling or scowling. He's a rebel, all he needed was a motorcycle, tattoos, piercings and a leather jacket to make him fit the part more.

Although, his skater look already did its job. At least a lot of girls who pined for the bad boy type would seem to agree. Annabeth didn't care that his eyes and smile were beautiful, which she realized after glimpsing them so close for the first time, she still wanted to steer clear. He was nothing but trouble.

Still he did have a great voice and musical talent. And did she mention that his eyes were pretty?

…

Like the music class, job hunting didn't go so well for Annabeth, either. The odds just weren't in her favor. A day after the Percy incident, she went job hunting with her friends. Her friends Piper and Rachel already got them before she did, given they didn't have the same complicated schedule. Usually jobs for high schoolers were open after class hours, but Annabeth just wasn't free then, she had advanced classes, all in prep for prestigious architecture schools. So while everyone had jobs or engaged in extra-curricular activities, or whatever it was other teenagers did, like get in trouble, Annabeth was learning way ahead of her peers with advanced maths and sciences.

The one job that had a vacancy at the time slot she was free was already taken. When she saw the ad for a job opening for Café Olympus, she nearly jumped for joy. But upon arriving there, the manager announced it was already booked, they just haven't taken down the flyers yet.

"Looks like I'm not getting a job," Annabeth groaned, "it's not like I need it." She said it mostly to console herself – she didn't need the money, she had a well-off family, but she didn't want to be so reliant on them. They'd probably want her to 'show her gratitude for their generosity' one day by surrendering the full course of her life to them. They'd probably end up arranging her marriage, or something equally horrendous. Her mouth tasted like bile at the thought.

Piper patted her shoulder and gave her smile, her bright eyes reassuring. Piper McLean was as nice as she was beautiful, and Annabeth mouthed a _thanks_. "Come one, let's go," she said, but was stopped by Rachel grabbing her by the arm. "Wait," said Rachel, her green eyes transfixed on the stage. Her red hair was wilder than ever, reminiscent of Merida in Brave. "Isn't that Percy from school?"

Annabeth recoiled at the sound if his name. _Wow, he affects me_ that _much_ , she thought.

But she followed Rachel's gaze, and she found him setting up his amp on the stage. The crowd actually became excited, shouting a few _hoots_ and clapping here and there. Then he started singing a cover of Ed Sheeran's _Sing! And is doing a really good job at it,_ Annabeth noted. The crowd seemed to agree with her, too. "He's really good," Rachel elbowed Annabeth, trying to get her to pay attention to the song. "Let's just leave," Annabeth started to turn around to make an exit through the glass double doors, but Piper took her by the shoulder. "Let's just stay," said Piper distractedly, her eyes glued to the stage where Percy Jackson was singing. To her annoyance, Rachel was already clapping along with the crowd. _Figures,_ Annabeth thought, with Rachel being the biggest sucker for Ed Sheeran and all, despite her claim of repulsion towards the mainstream.

"Now, sing!" Percy shouted after the chorus, pumping his fist in the air, and the crowd began singing the "Oh, whoa" part with him. To Annabeth's horror Rachel and Piper were singing along. Although it's not like they would if they knew what happened in the band room, they'd know she was pissed. And as much as Annabeth loved the song, she didn't want to sing along. Not after Percy got to delve into her deepest thoughts that day not so long ago.

When Percy finished, the crowd roared. "Thank you," Percy said, and it was the first time Annabeth saw him smiling for real, gleaming and from ear to ear. Genuine, like the stage was where he belonged.

"Now's the time that I have to take requests," Percy picked up a hatbox from the floor, which was passed around the crowd earlier. "I'm going to draw what song to sing next, since we don't have much time to sing all the requests in here." Percy dug into the hatbox full of pieces of paper.

"And thank you so much for sending in your requests," Percy said as he fished out a folded piece of paper, and before opening it he said, "there are so many you guys want me to sing, and I'm overwhelmed." He let out a hearty chuckle Annabeth didn't think bad boy Percy Jackson could make.

He opened the piece of folded paper, and began to read aloud, "Percy, please sing an original song. You're so good it makes me wonder what you're still doing at small stage like this," Percy beamed again, and Annabeth's heart would've done a somersault, had she not been so angry. "Aww, thank you! And it makes me wonder how you fit all this in a small piece of paper, too!" Percy joked, and the crowd genuinely laughed.

"I hope you're making your own music and we'd love to be the first to hear it before they start playing on the radio," Percy continued reading, and his smile got bigger at every word, " Love, Jay." They crowd roared in approval at this, and Percy chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I haven't been working on my own songs lately," Percy's smile waned, but only slightly, he still looked happy with the audience's feedback. But the crowd protested, and Annabeth heard a few _"Aww, come on's!"_ and " _You're just being modest's"_ and _"We know you're working on something,"_ from various audience members.

"Alright, alright!" Percy buckled under the pressure, and Annabeth became genuinely curious as to what kind of music Percy could actually make on his own, after hearing him alter her song that day.

He began to strum chords with his guitar, and when he began singing, Annabeth realized he _couldn't_ make his own kind of music. Because he was singing _her_ song - the one she made at the music room, the one she poured her soul into, the one she made while he was apparently and practically _spying_ on her. Percy Jackson had stolen _her_ song.

Without waiting for her friends, she bolted out of the café.

 **End of Chapter One.**

 **Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it! I appreciate reviews.**


	2. Deals and Partnerships

**Six Strings and Six Words**

 **Chapter Two – "Deals and Partnerships"**

 _A Percabeth_ Austin & Ally _AU_

…

"He did _that?_ " Rachel said all too loudly in the cafeteria, her sandwich still half chewed in her mouth, as expected from a lady who'd spent her pre-high school years in finishing school. "And here I thought you were just upset because you have crush on him."

"Rachel!" Annabeth glared at her, "I do _not_ have a crush on Percy Jackson!"

"Chill!" Rachel smirked, her freckles a constellation all over her face.

"So, aren't you going to confront him?" Piper suggested, "Isn't it like intellectual property theft?"

"It's not like I copyrighted it or anything," Annabeth sighed, her shoulder sagging as she leaned her elbows on the lunch table, which would've made her mother explode.

"It's still wrong," sweet Hazel said. "You at least need to talk to him."

"You guys think he'll listen to me?" she desperately scanned her friend's faces for answers, and to her dismay they all seemed unconvinced at the thought Percy would just play nice guy and give her the song back. Not after his track record.

"Yeah, didn't think so," Annabeth sighed again, and took a sip from her juice box. At the very moment, Leo Valdez very loudly entered the cafeteria, Percy in tow. Leo held a videocam still attached to its tripod, filming Percy walking into the classroom. "Make way people, rock star coming through," Leo obnoxiously announced.

Jason Grace stood up from the lunch table (which Annabeth noted seemed to have made Piper stiffen and tuck a lose strand of her hair behind her ear) and gave Percy and Leo high fives. "What's up?" he asked.

"We're documenting Percy's life for when he's famous," Leo announced happily, "And I'm directing everything." The people who knew Leo knew he was super into technology, but his biggest hobby was making films. He had a heck of a skill with video editors (and other software for that matter, he could probably make his own.)

"The crowd at Olympus Café loved the original song he wrote," Leo filled Jason in a bit more detail. Annabeth caught Percy grow tense, his lips twitching, his chest heaving. "Right! The song.. the I wrote," Percy said nervously, and met Annabeth's eyes at the exact moment. His eyes grew wide in shock, and turned back to Leo.

Annabeth shook her head and turned to her friends. "Can you _believe_ him?" Her friends also gave disapproving looks.

"And here I thought he was just a troubled soul, a misunderstood figure with a heart of gold underneath all the bad boy shenanigans," Rachel said wistfully, finally finishing off her sandwich. They continued to carefully study Leo, Percy and Jason's exchanges.

"He performed the song, and I filmed it! Posted it on youTube. If it gets a bunch of hits, there's a great chance he'll be famous," Leo declared, so sure of himself. If you looked closely, there was a greedy glint in his eyes.

"Annabeth!" Piper harshly whispered with a sense of urgency in her tone, grabbing her by the shoulder and leaning in closer. "You have to do something. He's going to take credit for something _you_ did. And if talking him out of it doesn't work, maybe we should think of something else.

Rachel smiled deviously at Piper's words and began playing with her unused fork, tapping it against her palm, leaving harmless dents on her skin. She nodded, her smile making her look dangerous, and said, "Yeaah."

Hazel eyes flared in alarm, and she hastily shook her head. "Talk to him first. At least try that. If that doesn't work, we'll try something else.. something that's legal."

"Aww," Rachel petulantly pouted.

"You're right," Annabeth sagged her shoulders. When she saw Percy again he was leaving the cafeteria with Leo, trying to make him stop filming his every move. She got up and started to go after him, but the more she inched closer, the more the words lost her. _What would she_ say _to him?_

…

She caught up to him moments later, and she was glad he was alone by his locker. Just when she was about the grab his attention, he turned around and almost slammed into her. "Whoa," was his articulate response.

"Oh, hey uhh," Percy said nervously, pausing to try to remember her name (which people have been doing a lot lately.)

"Annabeth!" she snapped, gritting her teeth and balling her fists after.

"What's up?" Percy stalled.

"I think you know what's up," Annabeth folded her arms.

"Uhmm, no, I don't," Percy shook his head, looking genuinely clueless. "Oh, is it about listening in on you writing your song?"

"No!" Annabeth snapped again, startling Percy. "Yes, that too. But you also stole it. You performed it at the café after they asked you to perform an _original_ song."

"It _is_ an original song," Percy defended, "it just wasn't written by me."

Annabeth sent him another death glare. He gulped. Annabeth gave herself mental points for intimidating the bad boy extraordinaire.

"But wait, you were there? At the café I mean, when I was singing."

"Yes," Annabeth said impatiently, "I was applying for a job."

"But we had no openings," Percy showed real curiosity.

"That's not the point!" Annabeth snapped. Again. She felt she'd be doing a lot of that with Percy. "The point is you stole my song. You claimed it as your own at the café."

Percy sighed, wearing an expression Annabeth has never seen in him before. He was _sorry_. He was _guilty_. He certainly never looked like that after punching Octavian in his face (he looked strangely satisfied back then, if you're wondering.)

"You're right," he admitted. "It's wrong. I just – I just panicked! I don't know how to let the crowd down." To that Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"No really," Percy placed a hand on her shoulders, his eyes so genuine. _And beautiful_ , Annabeth immediately let the thought dissolve in acid. "I'm sorry. It's wrong."

 _Well, what do you know. He_ does _know right from wrong!_ She thought. "I'll make it up to you. I'll set things right," Percy declared a little less than grandly. "I'll tell the people at the café and tell them _you_ wrote it."

"You can even perform with me! We can write a new song, and we can sing that!" Percy smiled wide at the thought, like a light bulb just lit above his head. He looked so excited and enthusiastic, Annabeth's palms began to sweat. She imagined herself going back to the stage, in front of people. Okay, maybe the café wasn't particularly big, it was no auditorium or Carnegie Hall, but still. There were _people_. People with eyes, ears, and hurtful, judgmental thoughts. She froze in fear at the mere thought of it.

"Uhmm, Annabeth?" Percy began to wave a hand in front of her face until she snapped out.

"Uhmm, I'm sorry," Annabeth shook her head, and her thought out along with it. She could still feel her heart racing at the memory of all those eyes burning through her during her audition years ago. She could still hear them laughing at her, as if her mess up was the funniest thing ever and that they'd never ever forget the skinny blond girl in a million years like it was the best memory of their lives. Like if they'd get amnesia, they'd still remember Annabeth Chase's awkward audition and make it through the harshness of life.

"But I can't perform with you," Annabeth admitted.

"Why not?" Percy looked shocked. "You have a great voice!" He smiled reassuringly, and Annabeth was forced to stare at his face, his perfectly molded face – "You're a great singer, Annabeth. It'd be such a waste if you let all of that go!"

"My parents think the exact opposite," Annabeth muttered.

"Oh, I see," Percy smirked, proud that he seemingly analyzed the situation, "your parents told you that being a musician isn't a _real_ profession and the chances of making it are 'a billion to one.'" He made air quotes with his fingers, his voice dripping with sarcasm as if it were the most ridiculous thing he ever heard. "My other musician friends were told the same thing as their parents. But they still try. Besides, others badly _want_ to be able to sing like you but they can't."

Annabeth tried to process his words, because he was making sense and was actually starting to convince her. "And here you are just throwing it away just because two people said you can't make it," Percy mockingly shook his head. "But _I_ think you can make it."

Annabeth's heart almost leapt out of place, but she remembered that he made her _angry_. His smile made her angry. It was making her angry now, not feel all fluffy inside. It wasn't gorgeous or anything.

"Come on, Annabeth!" Percy pleaded. Annabeth had no idea why Percy was so bent on making her perform. The idea made her feel unsettled, but slightly warm inside, like what she'd imagined she'd feel if her mother had made her cookies and complemented her. Percy Jackson, juvenile delinquent, was complementing her. And doing it well, she might add.

"You might even get a job there," Percy's tone was sing-song, almost teasing, "I mean we may not have job vacancies for baristas but who knows maybe we'd need another singer to mix it up a bit."

 _A job_. The two words sparked a flame in Annabeth's mind. Oh, it all seemed so deliciously rebellious, at least to her parents. She could get a job, a job as singer at that – she'd prove her independence _and_ her true musical talent, both of which her parents are sure to loathe! She could prove to them that she could be capable on her own, of choosing her own path for herself. Maybe she and Percy weren't very different after all, maybe she had a rebellious streak of her own.

Only his was worse. Way, way worse. She was still a darling good girl compared to him.

"A-alright," she stuttered, but she accepted. Maybe it was time to overcome her fear once and for all. Percy took out his hand, and with a sense of finality, Annabeth shook it.

…

The night of the performance came. As the minutes ticked, Annabeth hated the decision more and more. _I mean, what was I thinking? Look at all these people! I'm going to screw up in front of them! Big time! They're going to hate me! They're going to think I'm ridiculous! They're going to laugh at me! They're always gonna remember me! I won't be able to show my face at the street anymore thinking that one of the people might be at the club tonight!_ After the steady stream of thought, she realized she'd been holding her breath.

"Annabeth, breathe," Percy said gently, his eyes boring into her, only making her breathing a little bit more hitched. "What's wrong, you look pale."

"I'm fine," Annabeth chuckled nervously, brushing him off, but he looked unconvinced.

"Now, let's do this," Percy smiled at her encouragingly and led her to the stage.

Annabeth's heart was thudding wildly in her rib cage, and the butterflies in her stomach where having a really wild, drunken party. She clutched at her stomach, feeling like she might throw up anytime soon. Her eyes scanned the crowd and found Piper and Rachel smiling and waving at her encouragingly, whilst enjoying hearty plates of pasta. Annabeth waved back timidly.

"Hi everyone," Percy spoke into the mic. "I have a confession to make." The crowd _oohed_ , some of them smirking mischievously at Percy, as if he was about to admit to a great scandal which involved hook-ups. "About the 'original' song I sang last time?" He made air quotes with his finger again. "Well, it wasn't really mine. I didn't write it."

The crowd didn't seem to mind. "I just panicked because you guys were asking me to sing an original song and I had nothing to sing and I just remembered the song off the top of my head. And I'm sorry," Percy admitted, and Annabeth realized she was seeing him do good things for the first time. It was a weird look on Percy, being good. "So I'm here to introduce to you guys the real writer of the amazing song, Annabeth Chase."

The crowd roared. All the blood drained out of Annabeth's face _. He just had to say my whole name! First name and last name and all! Now they won't forget! They really won't forget how much of a loser Annabeth is!_ Her heart thudded harder then she could ever think possible.

"And she's here to sing a new song with me," Percy smiled, "and it's a great one. You guys ready?" The crowd cheered in response.

Percy began to pluck his guitar and sing his verse. But when Annabeth's turn went by, all she did was open her mouth and breathe into the mike, unable to let the words come out. Percy kept plucking, waiting for her to sing. He looked at her, concerned, but she was just staring wide-eyed at the crowd.

In Annabeth's mind, the world slowed. The lights that where focused on her blinded her, like that night at the audition. She looked at all the pairs of eyes in the silent crowd, waiting for her to sing, waiting for her to mess up. Then she heard the laughs of the audience during her audition echoing in her head, and though _this_ crowd was silent, she began to shake. Then her stomach felt horrible, and next thing she knew, she was throwing up, staining a customer's nice shoes.

"Annabeth," Percy stopped playing and grabbed her by the shoulder, but she was already stepping backward, horrified. She then bolted off, but when she reached the edge of the stage, she tripped on a wire and fell off. The audience really was laughing now.

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled this time. He put his guitar down and ran after her.

…

"Where's Annabeth?" Piper worriedly approached Percy back stage.

"I don't know, I didn't see where she ran off to," Percy shrugged, but the panic and worry was evident in his eyes. "It's a surprise she could still do that, after that fall."

"We didn't see her go out," Rachel stated, "let's look for her here."

But they didn't have any luck. She was nowhere to be found. The girls agreed they'd go to her house to talk to her, and Percy nodded. They said their goodbyes before Percy went back to the stage to an impatient crowd.

…

When Mr. Apollo adjourned the music class, Annabeth hurriedly tried to escape through the doors after all the cheerleaders have filed out. She noticed Percy eyeing her the entire time, and she knew he was planning on talking to her after the class. But before she could make a run for it, he already had her by the shoulders.

"Annabeth," he said, in his low, somewhat husky voice. "I need to talk to you."

"There's nothing to talk about Percy," Annabeth fidgeted, shifting her feet, "I can't take that job. Last night was a disaster."

"But you're not hurt are you?" Percy asked, and Annabeth was truly stunned by his concern. "That was a pretty nasty fall."

"Just a few bruises, thanks," Annabeth replied, but it was evident in her tone that she wanted to bolt out of there as fast as she could. One more thought about last night and the salad and really bad meat she had for lunch would make a spectacular reappearance.

"Hey, Percy!" Leo suddenly grabbed Percy by the shoulder, which meant he had to reach up because even Annabeth was taller than Leo, and he showed him his tablet. "It's the video I took of you singing at the café!" Curious, Annabeth leaned in to take a closer look. When she listened, she realized it was when he was singing her song. She checked the views, and was astonished. _That is a big number_ , she thought.

"Whoa man," Jason clapped Percy at the back, grinning wildly, "that's pretty popular."

"Popular?" Leo looked mockingly at Jason. "It's a hit!" Percy smiled and high fived both Leo and Jason, then smiled at Annabeth. She felt her feet turn into jelly.

"You know what this means, right?" Leo knowingly put an arm around Percy's shoulders, which was a sight given he had to tiptoe. Percy was almost six feet tall, and Leo was around fix-six. Leo had his mischievous smile plastered on his face, and Annabeth knew it all too well. Like Percy, Leo was also a juvenile delinquent, but a smart juvenile delinquent. He shared a few honors classes with Annabeth, and he was exceptionally good at programming and electronics. Despite the fashion statement, he always had a tool belt and was constantly tweaking with something. He was Percy's partner-in-crime, a handy one at that – he could pick locks and mix chemicals that could turn people's skin purple. Good for pranks.

But Percy was oblivious to what Leo was thinking. "It _means_ ," he stressed the words, "that you could be famous. YouTube famous. And youTube fame could lead to fame fame. As in you with records, concerts, music videos-"

"Model girlfriends," Jason chimed it, smirking, and Percy smirked back, then bro-fisted him. Annabeth rolled her eyes and thought, _Boys_.

"-and we can sell Percy Jackson merchandise! Percy Jackson shirts, jackets, mugs, pins, lunchboxes, underwear – name it, you can make it! That means _money!_ " Leo beamed, grabbing Percy by the shoulders and shaking him. "Plus, I could direct all your videos, make your products, and advertise you online. I could get like twenty percent commission." Leo grinned greedily.

"You're thinking big too fast, Leo," Percy shook his head and dismissed the thought. "We're not sure that if we upload more videos, they'd also be a hit."

"But you do wanna get there, right?" Leo coaxed. "And by there I mean all the glory of being a famous musician, right?"

"Well, yeah, but –"

"Then you have to start off somewhere," Jason stated. Jason, in contrast to the two delinquents, was actually a pretty good kid. He had good grades and he was a jock. He was the class president, extremely popular and good looking – blue eyes, blond hair, hot bod and all. How he became friends with these two? Annabeth wasn't so sure. But he was definitely the odd one out. Still, he was supportive of their endeavors. At least, the musical endeavors. When Percy and Leo were up to their hijinks, the best support he could give was not to tell on them.

"Jason's right," Leo chimed. "And this is a great start. You can do covers, have a blog, maybe please the fangirls with fan service once in a while, and when you've stirred enough buzz, a record label's got to notice you."

"Yeah, and I think you'd also have a better chance with the record labels if you also did original songs," Jason suggested, which Annabeth agreed with. "At least they'd know you could make your own music and fare well with it, not just do covers."

Percy frowned at this. "I'm not very good at making my own songs," Percy shook his head, "I could but, they're not as good as this one. I mean, Annabeth wrote-" he paused, then began to smile. Annabeth knew it was mental light bulb moment for Percy. He looked directly at her, his smile brighter than he'd ever seen.

"That's it!" Annabeth frowned as he said it, as she began to have an idea of _his_ idea. And she didn't quite like it. "If you're thinking what I'm thinking Percy then-"

"You could be my songwriter!" Percy exclaimed happily. Annabeth realized he was uncomfortably close, only a few inches from her.

"That's a great idea! Annabeth wrote a really great song," Leo declared, which given any other time would've flattered her, but now it just made her anxious. "Together, you could make a lean, mean, writing, music making machine!" Judging from Jason's smile, he seemed to agree to.

This made Annabeth want to sink back into nothingness and eat a whole tub of ice cream.

"What, do you think I'll do that for you?" Annabeth replied snarkily, biting her lip after. She still couldn't get over her annoyance with Percy. For spying on her, for stealing her song, for tricking her to go back on stage and humiliate herself, for thinking she'd just do what he'd asked for him, when he'd done absolutely nothing for her. Okay, maybe he set things right, but that gave them a blank slate. That was just to clear owing her something. Besides, every time she got caught up with him, bad things happen. "I mean, what's in it for me?"

Percy thought about it for a while.

"You _could_ get twenty percent of his earnings as well," Leo suggested, shrugging.

"That's _mandatory_ ," Annabeth replied, still annoyed.

"I could help get you a job in the café, but not as a singer," Percy suggested, showing just how enthusiastic about this he was. "I'm pretty close with the owner, and my Mom manages it. Maybe I could work something up."

Annabeth breathed in through gritted teeth. Boy, did she want that job. It was all so tempting.

"Besides, it's a chance to tell you parents you could _still_ make music," Percy's tone was pleading now. "You may not be the one singing them, but you're the one writing them, and that's equally important. You could still be in the biz, but as a songwriter."

Annabeth considered this, and he was right. His offer became more and more like strawberry cake. She loved strawberry cake. If Percy does become famous, and she wrote all his songs with him, then she _would_ have made it into the biz. She _would_ have proven her parents wrong, she _would_ have proven that she could choose her own path, that she could use her talent and music and make it her career. She _would_ have proven she could make a living from doing what she loved. She _would_ have proven that all those years of music lessons weren't a waste. She would have proven she wasn't completely useless despite her stage fright.

"I mean, you're a songwriter with stage fright, I'm singer who loves to perform! We're a perfect match!" Percy stated proudly, like it was his best idea yet.

Percy looked so happy and confident with the thought, Annabeth was sinking deeper and deeper into it. The thought of proving her parents wrong made it all the more tempting.

"So, what do you say? Partners?" Percy held his hand out, hopeful.

Annabeth sighed, but gave a slight, crooked smile. "Partners."

She shook his hand, and the deal is made.

 **End of Chapter Two.**

 **Thank you for reading! Hope you liked it! I appreciate reviews.**


	3. Double Takes

**Six Strings and Six Words**

 **Chapter Three – "Double Takes"**

 _Notes at end of fic._

…

"Miss Chase, your partner is Mr. Jackson."

In any other time or in any other class, Annabeth would've panicked after hearing this. But when Mr. Apollo said it in music class, sounding as if he didn't give it much thought as he seemed preoccupied with his coffee and clipboard, she cracked a satisfied smile. Percy must've been happy too, if the way he leaned over his shoulder to smile at her all the way from the first row wasn't an indication.

They 'incident' that flipped a switch between them and made them go from strangers to maybe-friends only happened a few weeks ago, and surprisingly, Annabeth wasn't complaining. Much. At least, not as much as she thought she would. They weren't exactly the best of friend yet, and their exchanges consisted mostly of sometimes horrifyingly awkward small talk, featuring Percy's sarcasm and annoying puns, but still they weren't complete strangers like before.

At least now that they were partnered for their next music class project, Annabeth knew she wouldn't want to rip her hair out working with a guy like Percy. Plus, she actually felt pretty confident about this one, since they had to write their own song and perform it in class. This was her zone. And this was something Percy's really good at too, and they wouldn't have ended up partners if they'd made a bad team. They already proved themselves as a team before. It wasn't like Chemistry, which apparently Percy was so close to flunking, in which Annabeth knew she had to carry all the weight.

When the bell rang, and the rest of the class marched out, Annabeth immediately walked over the studio piano and fished her songbook from her backpack.

"Hey partner," Percy called out from behind her. He has a satisfied grin. "Ready to ace this assignment?"

"Yes," Annabeth nodded, her smile genuine, "I actually am."

"Then scooch over," Percy said hurriedly, taking a seat beside Annabeth before she even started moving, adjusting himself as he did. Sitting together on the piano stool, their shoulders brushed against each other. Annabeth felt warmth settle on her cheeks, but she decided to ignore it. She looked over at Percy, checking to see if he showed the same signs, but he was just smiling, looking as if this was the most exciting thing he ever had to do, like a kid entering a theme park.

"So, what's your idea, partner," Percy began pressing random keys.

"Well, I'm not sure what to write about yet," Annabeth shrugged, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach that decided to have a party for her proximity with Percy.

"We can write about our favorite things," he said as he began to play a melody on the piano. "My favorite things are waffles, brownies, ice cream, and when you combine all of those three things." Annabeth shook her head and stifled a smile.

"Percy, be serious! This is actually a project."

"I am serious! My love for waffles, brownies and ice cream is serious!" Percy feigned being offended, and on the spot, he sang a ridiculously silly love song about it, and Annabeth had to laugh. Any other time, Annabeth would've been stressed out by a partner that wouldn't take their work seriously.

"See? You have to chill, Annabeth. This is art," Percy kept playing the erratic melody of his on-the-spot waffle song, "you can't rush it or be systematic about it like math. You can't go all 'hey, let's solve five problems in thirty minutes' with this one."

Annabeth nodded in agreement.

"You have to let the inspiration sink in."

"And right now you're inspired by waffles, brownies and ice cream?"

Percy just gave me hers a smile, and Annabeth had to smile back.

…

Annabeth wasn't sure when the last time she laughed so much was. Percy was making joke after joke, random pun after random pun, and to her surprise he was pretty easy to talk to. Their conversation seemed to have started in Manhattan and ended up in a random planet in the Milky Way, and was far different from their usual small talk. There was even banter here and there.

"Careful Percy," Annabeth chuckled, "we're not the Beatles."

"Yeah?" Percy smirked. "Give us a bit more time and we'll kick the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership to the curb."

"Easy there, we've hardly made anything today," Annabeth rolled her eyes, but was smiling.

"We have a melody," Percy said encouragingly, and began to play it on the piano. Then he messed up by the end, making him say, "Woops, still struggling there."

"That's because you played the wrong note," Annabeth pointed out, and demonstrated the right melody. Percy slapped his forhead. "Right! I keep forgetting!"

He then checked his battered up watch, then the wall clock to see if they're in sync. "It's only a few minutes to our next class. We should get going."

"Right," Annabeth closed her songbook, leaving her pen to mark the page. She put it back in her bag. "But we need more time to make it."

"When?" Percy slung a strap of his backpack on his shoulder.

"How's about we meet at my house on Saturday?" Annabeth offered. "We have a piano there. We could use it."

"Are you sure that'd be okay with your parents?" Percy knit his brows, and Annabeth read his mind in a snap. She was well aware of his rep, and some parents actually knew about him. Of course, the average concerned parent would want their child to steer clear, and Percy seemed to know what was going on. He was a juvenile delinquent, and parents seemed to think he could spread the disease to their kids with her touch. Percy felt that Annabeth's parents might not be so happy about inviting him home.

"It'd be fine, Percy," Annabeth reassure him, "my Dad's clueless. All he knows about school is that I'm getting good grades."

"Great!" Percy brightened up at this news they stood together and began to walk towards the door, with him leading the way. Just as he was near the door framed, he abruptly stopped. "Uh, Annabeth?" he turned around to face her. "Don't take this the wrong way and all, but since we need to meet up and stuff could I.. maybe get your number?"

Annabeth smiled, and laughed internally. He looked mildly flustered, and this somehow amused him. Of all the years she'd known of his less than excellent track record, she hadn't realized none of them included girls. He wasn't known to sleep around or have a long list of ex-lovers. It amused her that Percy'd actually get nervous around a girl.

Not that she was the type of girl to get nervous around, or this was the type of situation that involved romance and feelings. She shook her head to shake off the thoughts. "Why not?" Percy snapped her out of it, his eyebrows raised, looking a bit puzzled.

Annabeth remembered that he couldn't read her mind and that she shook her head after he asked his question, and he interpreted it as a no. "No, I mean, _yes_ ," Annabeth sighed, "yes you can get my number, I was just thinking of something else when I shook my head."

"Oh," Percy grinned and looked relieved, "okay then."

Things were getting too awkward for Annabeth's taste, but she shook it off, mentally this time, and saved her number on his phone.

…

Annabeth had no idea why, but she kept thinking about Saturday. She was just fixing her stuff by her locker, and her mind kept drifting off to the image of her sitting close to Percy while he plays the keys and she sings the song. If it was anything as fun as their last after-music-class session, then it was definitely something to look forward to. She found it astonishing how weeks ago, the very thought of being in the same room as Percy Jackson annoyed her.

"So," Rachel almost sang out, wrapping her arm around Annabeth's shoulders, her grin shit eating. Her outfit was a mess of colors all too bright, her hair still a wild, red mane. "I heard someone's got a date on Saturday."

"Who?"

"Don't play innocent with me, Chase," Rachel put her arm away, only to cross it with her other one over her chest. Her grin remained the same.

"We're only making our project," Annabeth rolled her eyes, "we're going to work on a song together. Besides, isn't it expected that we spend a lot of time together? We are songwriting partners."

"Yeah, but you two have been on weirdly good terms lately," Piper said skeptically, a dainty brow raised. For a moment a pang of jealousy waved over Annabeth, seeing her in a ratty old jumper and disheveled, choppy hair with a braid hanging at the side, but still looking beautiful. If Piper chose, she could easily be one of the popular kids, with her underrated looks. Given the amount of time the others put into their appearance, Piper could easily look better than them. But Annabeth learned to stop caring about her looks the moment she realized she won't be a pop star, and she'd end up working in an office where none of it mattered and where the motto was the more boring, the better.

Annabeth almost laughed. "We're just not biting our heads off and you guys already think we're-" Annabeth paused, unable to find the words, so she just shook her head at the absurdity. "You're as bad as the shippers on Tumblr!"

"Besides, I'd be lying if I told you he didn't annoy me," Annabeth admitted, "he's childish, with no sense of organization or planning, and last time we wasted almost the entire session because of his jokes and lack of focus." _It was still fun though,_ she thought to herself.

Rachel and Piper gave each other knowing looks, which made Annabeth felt weird, because she was always on the other end of the knowing looks, not the actual subject of it. She sighed.

"Guys-"

Her thought process stalled and was replaced by alarm. There was an ear-splitting, spine cracking crash against a set of lockers, which sounded strong enough to make a dent. To the onlookers' surprise, the impact was made by a person, an extremely hurt person, for that matter.

The boy, who looked a lot like Michael Yew, crumpled painfully on the floor. Instinctively, Annabeth searched around the crowd for any signs of authority, any adult, teacher, the guidance counselor – heck, she would've accepted Coach Hedge despite his bloodthirstiness. Michael looked seriously hurt. It seemed that his elbow received the full brunt of the attack, as he kept clutching it with his other arm, keeping it close to his stomach on the floor.

"WHAT'S THE DEAL, YEW?" the voice belonging to Matt Sloan, bully extraordinaire, boomed.

The students crowded around the scene, all seemingly too afraid or too eager to watch a fight to call for any help. Matt looked more sinister than ever with his unconstitutional hair which was shaved with what the guidance counselor would call a vulgar pattern, his multiple unconstitutional piercings, and big, burly body underneath his ratty clothes, unkept clothes. The look in his eyes – more sinister than the rest of his body.

Sloan was standing tall and confident, the muscles on his arms flexing visibly as he got ready to raise another punch. Poor Michael cowered in fear. Annabeth was about to run off to get a teacher, since no one else seemed to have thought to do it, when someone harshly bumps into her shoulder.

Before Annabeth could open her mouth to react, that someone lands a punch hard on Sloan's jaw, making him stumble backward. Annabeth could only see the back of Sloan's challenger, but he was wearing faded hoodie, jeans, and chucks, and he had shaggy jet black hair. His right fist was balled tightly in fury.

"What's the matter with _you_ , Sloan?" With a chill, Annabeth recognizes the voice. It was Percy Jackson. And before she knew it, it broke into a full-fledged fight. To make it worse, everyone seemed too engrossed in the brawl to do anything about it. Of course, some of them looked ready to pluck out their bills and make bets. _Ten dollars for the skinny dude versus Matt Sloan of the wrestling team!_ It did not look good.

"Hey – HEY!" Yet another voice interjected, and Annabeth could only hope that this time, it was a voice of sense, not another idiot asking for bruises. And she got what she'd hoped for, because it was Jason Grace, the good guy and popular kid meshed into one very blonde, very handsome dude. He looked furious.

"Drop it, you two!" he hissed, standing between them, giving them both the dirty eye. Although she could've sworn that the look he gave Sloan was dirtier. Annabeth decided to drop calling for a teacher, it seemed that Jason was about to take action. Which was timely, considering Percy got a black eye and a couple more bruises that would get more and more purple with time. There wasn't a visible scratch on Sloan, but by the way he clutched his jaw, Percy seemed to have made damage. Then blood trickled down his nose. Annabeth buried the littlest sense of pride she had.

Percy was breathing heavily, with a look she had never seen on his face before. When Annabeth imagined Percy, which she wouldn't admit to do a lot, she always envisioned smug smiles ready for mischievous action. Not this.. _furious_ thing.

For a moment, he swiveled his head, and their eyes met. His green eyes widened at the sight of her, and he abruptly turned away, seeming ashamed. Annabeth's throat clenched.

"You two should be the last people to pick fights. You're _both_ on probation," Jason reminded them coldly. "I could tell a teacher about this right now, and get you both _expelled_."

Percy looked like a bad blender mix of anxious, angry, and impatient, as if he knew what Jason was up to.. which he probably did. His nervous ticks and foot tapping seemed to convey _"Just get on with it!"_

Sloan on the other hand looked more scared. Percy looked the braver at the scenario, as if the thought of expulsion was no big deal. But Sloan had his eyebrows creased and his mouth parted in alarm. The thought of _his_ expulsion seemed too costly.

"You two are lucky I'm the one that came up," Jason said, "because I'm letting this pass."

Sloan looked relieved. "Listen man, thank-"

And like a bad-ass, Jason raised a hand in front of him to stop him. "Shut up, Sloan. Just remember the next time you decided to bully an innocent freshmen with asthma just because they 'annoy' you, you're mostly likely leaving Goode High for good."

Sloan grunted, and if you squinted hard enough, you could see his shame. He marched off, his fists still clenched and his muscles taut.

Michael Yew was already standing, he was helped by Leo. Michael stared at Percy as if he were his savior, his eyes wide and shining, arm still clutched to his most likely broken elbow. He muttered a stuttery thanks, but Percy just gave a tired not.

"I'll take him to the nurse," Leo offered, then gave Jason's shoulder a friendly slap, and assisted a still disoriented Michael to the nurse's office. The crowd began to dissolve at the end of the show. They looked dissatisfied with the outcome. Not enough blood, Annabeth guessed.

"Thanks, man," Percy wearily told Jason. Jason just shook his head and just as wearily smiled.

"No prob. You know you're heroics would get you killed one day, right?"

And with that, they both headed off to the opposite end of the hallway. But moments later, Percy looked back over his shoulder, as if to check who were still watching. Their eyes locked momentarily, and Annabeth saw shame in his. He immediately turned away. Annabeth sighed, feeling a pang on her chest.

"Well, that was something," Piper muttered, her gaze trailing as well to the two boys disappearing to the other end of the hall. Well, trailing _one_ particular boy.

"Psh," Rachel rolled her eyes, "you two and your types." Piper blushed, but Annabeth was caught too deep in her thoughts to respond.

It was funny, she was unraveling more bits and pieces of the mystery that was Percy Jackson with every encounter. And so far, most she's ever seen him do is well.. _good._ At least, inherently good. The punching-another-perso-in-the-face-thing wasn't so good, but to do it in order to defend someone who couldn't? That was so bad. It was kind of heroic, even.

She wondered about all the times he got into fights. They were often with Clarisse La Rue, Octavian, and the dirtbag Seniors who thought they ruled the school. They all had something in common – they were bullies. Their common targets? The defenseless. Annabeth felt the eagerness she spared for solving intricate puzzles, like she got another good clue to the Percy Jackson jigsaw.

 _Maybe he just fought to fight for the defenseless,_ she thought. Maybe there's more to the notorious juvenile delinquent everyone knew. He was just often caught at the wrong moments. She'd had a double take on Percy and his entire image. And a big part of her wished all of this was true. After all, it was another thing that made Percy Jackson not-so-bad.

As she entered her classroom, her phone buzzed. She unlocked to check her new message – from none other than Percy Jackson.

 _I uhmm sorry about that. Are you still up for Saturday?_

Annabeth shook her head and smiled. Why wouldn't she be up for it, she thought. Without hesitation, she typed her response and clicked _send_.

 _Of course this is our project dummy. See you then!_

 **The End**

 _Hey guys! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. I'm sorry for being slow on the update. I actually already have the whole story planned – it's just waiting to be written and posted. It's just that for the past weeks I've gotten hooked on this series called_ Arrow _and its spin-off,_ The Flash _. I finished all the available episodes for both series, which is pretty cool since I've just started. So I sort of lost my writing groove, which I had to get back by reading good books, which became another delay with my time. So since I've got the whole thing planned, I decided to have a fixed update day, like most multi-chap fics. I've settled for Saturday, so I'll try my very best to have this fic updated every Saturday. And when I'm on a roll, a might even post two chaps a week – one on Saturday and another on Sunday. Though I make no promises on that one. Anyways, thanks again for reading, and I hope you stick around for the story to further unfold. I'd appreciate it._


	4. Doughnuts and Dilemmas

**Six Strings and Six Words**

 **Chapter Four – "Doughnuts and Dilemmas"**

 _A Percabeth Austin & Ally AU_

 _A/N: It's Saturday, so here's the update, as promised._

…

When Annabeth opened the tacky double doors of contemporary mansion _a-la_ Frederick Chase, she was surprised to see a scruffy looking Percy with extra-messy hair, as if he'd walked all the way to their house on the windy day. But after seeing the _butler_ – she tried not to call him that, Martin was family, and having a butler was tacky, as if everything in the house wasn't tacky enough already – carrying a warn-out and scratchy skateboard, she figured his real mode of transportation.

"Uhmm, cool guy," Percy awkwardly pointed to Martin who put it upon himself to keep the skateboard where it wouldn't damage the expensive tiled flooring. Martin just smiled and Annabeth smiled back, mouthing a thanks. He loved the guy, he was the only person left to talk to in this crazy old place, the only person who didn't make her feel so lonely.

Annabeth was waiting for Percy to comment on the grandeur of the household, he was ogling enough as it was. It was a beautiful house, and Annabeth could get crazy into the details of its masterful architecture, if only it weren't _theirs_ , and didn't remind her of what's missing in her life – a _real family_. Most of her school friends who've been here did the exact same ogling and made the exact same comments, except for Rachel and Piper, whose parents were also part of the affluent circle. Mr. Dare and Frederick were actually friends. The thought made Annabeth shiver.

Percy clearly was one of those people with ogling tendencies. She wasn't sure what kind of place Percy lived in or what kind of family he had, but she'd guessed it wasn't something like this. After all, he did work a part time job and owned a lot of very old, very warn out things.

Except for that day, he was actually wearing something looking well, relatively _new_. It was the same as his usual style – which consisted mostly of old shirts under a hoodie or sometimes plaid polo shirts with rolled sleeves if he was in the mood, faded jeans, and an old pair of chucks. Except this time, his polo shirt was relatively new as well as his shirt underneath. His shirt wasn't a band shirt, and it didn't have any obscene graphics. His jeans weren't that faded. But his chucks remained. That made Annabeth happy. Most surprising of all was the paper bag he carried.

"Uh, I got doughnuts," he held it up, "I just thought I'd brought some. I know this really great store."

"Thanks, Percy," Annabeth smiled and let him in. Percy's look as he entered the mansion was nothing short of that of a shy puppy. And like he couldn't help it, his head slowly swiveled around the whole room, drinking it in.

"Welcome to my castle, where I make experiments on dead bodies at night to get their brains and feed on their intelligence to get good grades," Annabeth said jokingly, with a voice that would've come straight from a terrible black-and-white horror film.

Percy cracked an easy smile and chuckled. "So that's your secret?"

"What, you thought I studied? Come on – let's get to the piano."

Annabeth led Percy up the staircase, which honestly looked like it belonged to a soap opera, or where Scarlett O'Hara would make her grand entrances in extravagant ball gowns and a matching parasol. It took long, because Percy still wasn't finished ogling the place.

Once they reached the second floor, a man in a suit carrying papers on one hand and a cup of coffee on the other came out from a nearby room. He had blond hair streaked with grey, and his face was lined with a lot of emphasis of his age and stress. His forehead was creased as if he was deep in serious thought.

"Dad," Annabeth said stiffly.

"Annabeth," Mr. Chase said with almost equal tautness. "So I'm guessing this is your guest." He eyes Percy, his eyes showing only the littlest glint of warmth.

"Uhm, hi," Percy muttered, and began contemplating whether to shake his hand and introduce himself like a gentleman ready to make a business deal. Only he didn't exactly know how to do that. So he just stood there to remain intimidated by the man.

"Dad, this is Percy," Annabeth began, "Percy this is my Dad." Mr. Chase only gave Percy a curt nod.

"Annabeth, I'm going to leave for a business meeting, I won't be back until late," said Mr. Chase, while disapprovingly eyeing Annabeth's bare legs, "you'll start your project already?"

Annabeth would've rolled her eyes, but she was too exasperated to, and wasn't up for all the trouble in speaking up against her Dad and his disapproval of shorts, especially when they have guests. This was a house, she was _supposed_ to feel at home, hence she was supposed to be _allowed_ to wear anything she wanted. But with her father's attitude, it was apparently a place to impress potential business partners, so the she and his twin half-brothers had to play the part of impressive, prim and proper kids.

"Yeah, Dad. We'll be at the old piano," Annabeth said hurriedly.

Mr. Chase raised a brow. "This is a project, right? You're not sneaking off to make your music again?" The skepticism in his voice left a sad pang on Annabeth's chest.

"No, Sir," Percy bravely spoke up. "Our music teacher Mr. Apollo gave it."

"Yeah, Mr. Apollo with the wacky projects that are supposed to enhance our creativity," Annabeth explained with emphasis, as if she knew she had to defend it, lest her father think it worthless. To people like her parents, art was good. It makes you cultured. Being cultured makes you look good to business partners.

Mr. Chase seemed to half-heartedly consider it. "Alright then, good luck." And without another word, he descended the stairs, met Martin through the double doors and took off to impress another bunch of boring, white and heterosexual business partners.

Annabeth finally let off steam and rolled her eyes.

"Wow, not as evil as I expected," Percy grinned, still holding the bag of doughnuts.

Annabeth shook her head. "He's not evil. Well, he's not as bad as my mom. My Dad he's.. well he was actually pretty fun. He was supportive and loving and he didn't want to control every aspect of my life. He didn't used to disapprove of everything," she narrated wistfully as she lead Percy to a lush looking corner, which, had it been outdoors, would've been a balcony. It over-looked most of the first floor of the mansion, as well as the hallways on the second floor lined with multiple doors that lead to a lot of rooms. The studio piano was well-kept, along with other expensive looking antiques like a grandfather clock with a pendulum Percy loved to follow, and classic looking paintings that lined the walls. There was an old red sofa, too.

"He wasn't as bad as my Mom, back then," Annabeth sighed, grabbing her songbook from an expensive looking corner table. "But when they separated and Dad got custody, he changed. He became this rigid person bent on leading our lives to the only path that seemed to have a 'better future'" She made air quotes with the last two words.

"I'm guessing that's a path full of suits and ties and snobby, rich business partners," Percy teasingly suggested.

"And boring parties with the only intention of social climbing," Annabeth added. She looked at Percy, and realized she'd had opened up so much. He almost expected him to do the same, but he only stood their carrying the bag of doughnuts.

"I'm sorry," Annabeth half-smiled and shook her head, "this isn't all about my family drama. We should get going."

"Aah, Annabeth Chase always getting right to business," Percy teased, and smiles his signature mischievous one. He sat at one side of the piano stool, which was a lot longer than the one at school, which meant it was made for more people to sit on and make music.

Annabeth followed and sat beside him. "But first," Percy began, raising a pointed finger and smiling. Annabeth huffed. "If you're going to say 'let me take a selfie' I'm going to push you off the railing," she muttered.

Percy laughed, a hearty, genuine, musical laugh. "I was going to say that we should have a doughnut, but a selfie wouldn't be so bad," he opened the bag and motioned toward Annabeth, beckoning her to get one. They still had warmth suggesting that when he'd gotten them, they were fresh from the oven.

"Yes to the doughnut," Annabeth grabbed one, "and no to the selfie."

Percy also got one and put the bag down beside him. "I agree."

…

After a while, Annabeth ended up lost in her thoughts as she listened to Percy sing the song they've made, while he played the accompaniment on piano. It already sounded great, and was really close to done. The melody really soothed her imagination and the lyrics just gripped her emotions, and the song just got her thinking about all the sadness she'd been harboring about her broken family. She hadn't stopped when Percy finished playing, and he had to snap his fingers in front of her face to break her out of it.

"You weren't listening," Percy said when Annabeth was finally paying attention. He had a goofy but cute frown on his face, like an unsatisfied toddler.

Annabeth shook her head and chuckled. "I was listening to every note. It just.. made me think of things, is all."

Percy nodded in understanding. There were a few moments of awkward silence. "You shake your head a lot," Percy awkwardly broke the ice, "like, after you've been thinking."

Involuntarily, Annabeth shook her head and smiled. "See, you're doing it again!" Percy pointed out happily.

To that, Annabeth just had to shake her head again. "I do it to knock myself out of my own little bubble."

"You also do that a lot, you know, space out and not share about it."

"I'm not sharing what I'm spacing out about," with class, Annebeth stuck her tongue, making Percy chuckle.

"You're already sharing your innermost feelings through song," Percy played two keys on the piano, "what's stopping you know?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes and shook her head, and before Percy could comment on it, she began, "This isn't a sharing session Percy. Besides, I don't hear _you_ sharing much of anything."

"I already told you my deep love for brownies, waffles and ice cream!" Percy feigned offense.

Annabeth actually laughed. "Whatever. Thing is, you need to trust someone to share. You earn trust," she seemed to challenge Percy.

"Hey, friends share," he took a bite of a doughnut fresh from the paper bag, "I'd like to think we're friends."

"Let's see about that," Annabeth smirked.

"But I shared my doughnuts."

Annabeth ignored him. "Besides, the song lyrics are vague. It could be any of my deepest thoughts, disguised in metaphor."

"Wow, so poetic," Percy teased, then took another bite out of his doughnut, earning him a powdered-sugar-mustache. "But you're right. Sharing takes time. But sharing is also key in making the best music. We'll work on that. In time, you'll get to see what a fantastic person I really am."

"Prove it, then," Annabeth challenged.

…

It'd been an hour since they've finalized the song, and after the final sound test, all they've been doing was finish up the doughnuts and talk, which they've already been doing much of during the day, in between breaks. They got the last two pieces of doughnuts and finished up.

"These are really good," Annebth savored her last bite, feeling sad that it'd be her last one for the day.

"And cheap, a really good deal," Percy added enthusiastically. "I got them at the shop two buildings away from the café, at the corner of a street with a lot of apartments. I live there."

Annabeth said a mental _Oh_ , as another piece of the Percy Jigsaw was fixed into place. She'd been there a couple of times, mostly just walking by to the café and the nearby bakeries and candy shops. The apartments were pretty small and shabby, and the particular area was notorious. It was filled with struggling people who worked odd jobs, barely making enough for a rent that wasn't even enough to get the place fixed. Most of them had rusty fire exists and crusted paint. There were usually men smoking on small porches and broken glasses of beer by the filled-to-the-brim trash cans. The place would've given her mother a heart attack.

Percy wasn't as financially stable as Annabeth's family, heck he must've been leagues away. That must've explained his fondness of old things – he probably couldn't afford to replace them. The thought made Annabeth sad, even for her privileges. The thought of him being in her Dad's mansion and hearing her rant about her rich girl problems for the past hour suddenly made her feel ashamed.

She'd found herself unable to hold back from sharing, the moment Percy'd mention her withdrawing from her potential music career. She'd told him about how she was pressured to have good grades to get the architecture school they've wanted for her. She'd told him about their disapproval in her pursuing music. She'd even told him about how her parents are so alike, now that her father was a boring, stuck-up, control-freak, that she thought it a wonder that they were divorced.

And all he did was listen, not judge. Not tell her off about being lucky to be living in this mansion in the first place, and to be able to afford anything she wanted, entirely discrediting all of her problems as if she could buy them away. He just listened and seemed to have understood – no judgments.

"Thanks, Percy," Annabeth earnestly said as she dusted off the powdered sugar that settled on her lap. Percy knit his eyebrows, puzzled. "What for?" he said after chewing then swallowing the last bit of doughnut, which left a blot of Bavarian filling on his left, which Annabeth had to admit, was really cute, until he licked it off.

Annabeth shrugged. "For the doughnuts. Without letting me share without telling me off-"

"Hey, we all have our problems," he interrupted her, as if he already understood what she was going to say. His expression morphed from puzzled to sad, almost broody. He remained like a that for a while, silent.

"Now you're the one who's spacing out," Annabeth commented.

"What?" Percy said when he snapped out of it. "Oh, I was just savoring the last piece of good doughnut, is all."

"Now you's the one not sharing?" Annabeth teased. Percy chuckled. "Let's just say, my delinquent records aren't as bad as what happens in our house," he said with a slight small to override the glumness of his tone. Then he cracked a big, mega-Watt one. "One day, Chase. I thought we'd take it slow with the sharing."

Annabeth shook her head chuckled. "Alright."

"Oh, and you did it again."

…

"Hundreds of thousands of hits, man!" Leo exclaimed happily in the history class he shared with Annabeth and her friends, along with Jason and Percy. The teacher hadn't arrived yet, so the students sat with their cliques and hung out. Leo held out his tablet, which was open to the youTube video of Percy's cover of Sam Smith.

"It's the most you've had for all of your covers," Jason announced happily and clapped Percy on the back. The three boys sat on the small bookshelf by the window, their long feet dangling. "Some are already asking for your album full of original songs!"

With that, Percy smiled warmly at Annabeth, making her insides flush with warmth. "We'll get to that soon," he said and winked at her. When she faced Piper and Rachel beside her, they were all knowing smiles. Annabeth shook her head at them and mouthed a _no_.

"So, what's the next move?" Leo asked.

"Maybe you should have a Q and A video," Rachel suggested, after pulling her head out of her own tablet, which was also opened to Percy's new cover. "A lot of people are asking questions on the comments section. It's a good chance for them to get to know you. But you have to look friendly, approachable, witty, and only slightly mysterious if your market is teenage girls."

Annabeth looked at Rachel in surprise. "What?" Rachel raised her hands in defense. But Annabeth knew she shouldn't be so shocked. Her Dad is friends with friends with a sought after manager in the music industry. She'd had been to a cocktail party with him, and she might've picked up a thing or two about managing a talent.

"That's a brilliant idea!" Leo exclaimed happily. He paused for a moment, like a light bulb lit in his head. "Wait, I had my _own_ brilliant idea!"

Annabeth suddenly became nervous. "Rachel, why don't you be Percy's manager?"

"What?" Rachel spat flatly, seeming unconvinced.

"Well, you obviously know what you're talking about," Leo pointed out, "and you obviously know all the right moves to make Percy look good and get him signed! You can make him the proper image."

"Hey – so my image isn't good?" Percy sounded offended.

They all give him a look – Annabeth, Piper, Rachel, Jason and Leo alike. He raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright!" He sighed. "But I really am a nice guy. I just look bad."

That, Annabeth knew was true. She knew now that he was a good guy, he was just prone to trouble. For all his good traits, he was also stubborn, spunky, naïve and restless, which often led him into troublesome situations. Annabeth also learned an important lesson – never to judge the troublemaker again.

"So, what say you, Rachel?" Leo urged her on.

Rachel gave the thought a while, but eventually gave in and shrugged. "Why not? I have a lot of great ideas." Leo, Percy and Jason all looked pleased. Leo even shouted a 'Yes!'. "Besides, I get to tell you guys what to do, and get a commission out of it! Sounds like the life to me," she grinned. Annabeth had to shake her head, but she was smiling.

Percy chuckled at this. "Thanks, Rachel," he said anyways.

"We have to shake it off, though," Rachel stood up and began to approach the boys. Leo raised a brow and began this awkward jig with his bony hands. "Like the Taylor Swift song?" he said. This made Rachel roll her eyes.

"No, doofus," she held out her hand, "I mean to seal the deal. I'm officially part of Team Percy."

"Ooh," Leo nodded, happily enlightened. She took his hand and shook it. Then she did the same to Percy. Piper and Annabeth had to laugh at Rachel being all business like.

Annabeth sighed at what she'd gotten herself into – Rachel mixed in with the likes of Leo Valdez wasn't bound to be good. Leo was this elfish, hyperactive kid. He was 'loud and Latino,' as he always said during introductions. He was always tinkering with things or coding a new computer software, or editing this weird video documentary he made. He had a strong personality, but Rachel was a force to be reckoned with, too. Her personality was a s fiery as her hair, and she was extremely opinionated. They were bound to clash, but Annabeth hoped for the best.

After all, she'd already considered herself friend with Percy, someone she used to clash with. Annabeth hoped for the best for this new team.

 **End of Chapter**

 _Thank you so much for reading, and for the support thus far! I feel as if I've been getting my groove more as I write this, and I feel more and more okay with my writing style with every chapter._


	5. Announcements and Annasmuts

"I love you Annabeth," Percy said while he was inside her.

"I love you too, Percy, but.." Annabeth replied, her voice shaky. She reached out her hand to touch his, but felt sad at the barrier between them.

Percy was already inside the space ship headed to Pigfarts, at was about to leave in 2 minutes to find Grover on Mars. His eyes grew teary with anticipation with what Annabeth was about to say.

"But I love Coach Hedge more. I'm his mistress now, bye," with that, Annabeth heads off into Coach Hedges arms and make love in front of Percy, as the rocketship SS Foold Yah took off.

"At least I'll always have Rumbleroar," says Percy.

 **End**

Lol Sorry about that. I just had to write that bit because doesn't accept chapters that are wholly author's notes anymore, and I have an important announcement to make. Hope that entertained you before I break down the news.

Anyways, here it is:

First off, I want to say thank you for reading the story, and even liking it, I truly appreciate it.

Second off, I wasn't planning on going on a hiatus - I was planning on finishing the chapters before classes start on August 5th, and just editing them before I post them on Saturdays. I actually have a few chapters drafted out already.

 _But_ , due to unpredicted circumstances, I wasn't able to give my fanfic writing much focus. There'd been a death just recently in the family and that didn't give me much time to work on this. I was also busy with pre-semester preparation - registration, packing because I'm about to move in to my dorm, and secretarial stuff for my organization.

Third off, now that the semester's starting I won't be able to write fanfics AT ALL. I have so much to do this semester, my academics already suck too much of my time. On top of that, I'm my organization's secretary, which means I'm the 3rd highest ranking officer, next only to the vice-president. We have a lot of projects coming up so I'll be hella busy.

I can't start working on it again until December, when our sem ends. I'm so sorry. I just won't be able to juggle all these things at once, and writing fanfics is no joke. My fellow writers know that.

Lastly, I was thinking about rewriting the whole story in Annabeth's point-of-view, as in _**first person**_. We'll be getting into her head. But with that, I guess I'd change a few things, but those would be relatively minor, the story would still be the same.

I just really like this AU, I've never been more passionate about a multi-chap before, and I'm open to making it better, even if I have to rewrite it.

Of course, that's still subject to further thought. And I have months to think about it. I might not rewrite it at all, just update it. It all depends.

Anyways, thank you guys for the support and sorry for this inconvenience. I'm gonna miss this AU while I'm submerged in academics. I hope when I get back, you'd all still be there. Who knows, after a semester in our Communication Arts program, I'd be able to make things even better.

Until then, see you guys!

Love,

Me. :)

P.S. I'll still be in Tumblr once in a while, to de-stress (or stress myself out even more, it there's like a ship war post) for 5 minutes. I might just be reading fics and reblogging stuff.


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